Talim's Secret
by dianaglampers177
Summary: High school AU! Talim is a freshman, starting her first day of high school. She also has a little secret that she may not be able to keep for long.
1. F is for Freshman

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Talim's Secret

By Diana Moon Glampers

Chapter 1

F is for Freshman

Talim was asleep in her room. She was snuggled under the covers, her alarm clock only a minute away from sounding off. Her pet budgie, Alun, was in its birdcage, also asleep. It was quiet and peaceful that morning. It was at first, anyway.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

"All right!"

Talim jumped out of bed, excited to start her first day of high school. She turned to her bird, who was startled by the alarm.

"Hey there, Alun! Guess what? It's the first day of school! It's the first day of school!"

Talim jumped up and down, barely able to contain herself. She grabbed some clothes from her dresser.

"Oh Alun, I'm going to make so many friends! Maybe I can join a club. Oh! Maybe I can start a club! Wouldn't that be great, Alun? Well? Huh?"

Alun let out a cranky chirp. Talim laughed.

"Silly little birdy."

Talim gave Alun some birdseed and patted him on the head. Alun didn't like to be touched, but usually tolerated Talim. If anyone else tried to touch him, they'd usually get bitten. Once she was done, Talim left her room to take a shower.

Once Talim was done with her shower, she changed into her new clothes, clothes that she'd been saving for her first day of school. She had a cute little pair of shorts, a fine white shirt, and a comfy pair of sandals. She even decided how to do her hair for this day. She bought pink hairclips that she thought complemented her looks well. She took a few minutes to style her hair before she noticed the time.

"Oh. I should get going!"

Talim hastily ate breakfast before leaving home for her first day at Soul High.

Once Talim arrived at school, she was wowed by all of it. There were students all over the place, talking and socializing. It seemed like everyone had their own place in the world, defined by common interests and friends. Talim was giddy from excitement. She walked into the main hall. Right off the bat, Talim saw a new potential friend, a short girl wearing mostly black, with a cute flower print book bag. She walked over to the short girl and greeted her.

"Hi! My name's Talim, I'm a freshman. How are you?"

The other girl shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. I'm Amy, also a freshman. Did you get your schedule yet?" She said.

Talim shook her head.

"The staff's handing them out right in front of the office. You want me to show you?" Amy said.

"Sure, that'd be great!" Talim said.

Amy led Talim to the office. She picked up her schedule. Amy gave it a quick glance.

"Oh. Wow. We have the same gym class." She said.

Talim noticed it, gym at the very end of the day. She was a little bit worried. Talim never did like gym class. It was only for one semester though.

"Okay, Talim. You can do this. It won't be that bad." She thought.

Amy interrupted Talim's thoughts.

"Hey, you want to hang out at lunch with my brother?" She said.

"Yeah. That'd be great. Thanks!" Talim said.

"Cool. See you then." Amy said.

Talim tried not to let it show, but she was overjoyed with how her day had been going. She'd already made her first friend of the year.

Talim's day was otherwise uneventful until she reached lunch. Sure enough, Amy with waiting for her, along with her big brother. He was a tall guy with a small beard. Talim thought he was pretty cute next to his short little sister, Amy.

"That's the girl I told you about, Talim." Amy said.

Her brother smiled as Talim sat down.

"A pleasure to meet you. Name's Raphael, but you can call me Raph."

"A pleasure to meet you too. I'm Talim, but you already know that!" She said.

Raphael started to laugh. Amy sipped her milk.

"So Raph, what are you? A junior? Senior?" Talim said.

"Senior. It's my last year." He said.

"A senior? Cool!" Talim said.

"Yep. Sure is nice, getting to graduate this year. You're not getting out for a long time there, Talim. Not for a long time." Raphael said. He started to laugh. Talim laughed with him.

"He always teases me with that." Amy said.

As Talim, Raphael, and Amy ate lunch together, a fourth person joined them. It was Ivy, Raphael's girlfriend. She stood next to him and gave Talim a nasty look.

"Oh, Talim, this is my girlfriend, Ivy. We met over the summer."

Talim extended her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Ivy." She said.

Ivy gave her a fast handshake, like she wanted to spend as little time touching Talim as she could. To Ivy, the energetic freshman might as well have been made out of bugs and sludge.

"Nice to meet you, Talim." She said, quickly.

"Have a seat, if you'd like." Amy said.

Ivy started to sit down between Raphael and Talim, but her foot slipped. Her lunch tray fell and spilled macaroni and cheese all over Talim's white shirt.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I… I'm such a clumsy girl. So sorry." Ivy said with a faint smile. She had obviously meant to do that on purpose, but Talim and Raphael were completely oblivious to this fact. Talim only grinned awkwardly.

"It's okay. I'll just wash it out. No biggie." Talim said.

She left for the women's room. Amy, Raphael, and Ivy got napkins to clean up the mess.

"I should help Talim. I really should." Ivy said.

"She'll be fine." Amy said, wiping up the cheese all over the lunch table.

"No, I really should help her. You two have this mess under control, right?" Ivy said.

Amy cringed a little. She had cheese all over her fingers.

"You could help us more." She said.

"No, we've got this. Go ahead and help her." Raphael said.

Ivy left for the women's room. Raphael, oblivious to Ivy's intentions, let out a satisfied sigh.

"That's what I like about Ivy. She's so thoughtful and compassionate." He thought.

"This cheese is fucking everywhere." Amy said.

"Quit whining." Raphael replied.

Talim had removed her shirt and was washing it in the women's room sink. She wasn't sure if the cheese stains would come out with hot water alone. She groaned and wondered if she'd have to use bleach when she got home. She started to grab more paper towels when Ivy walked in.

"Hey. Talim. I want to talk to you." Ivy said.

Talim set down her shirt. She smiled and tried to act friendly.

"Yes, Ivy?" She said.

Ivy moved in close to Talim. She backed away, only to hit the bathroom's wall. Ivy growled.

"You stay away from my boyfriend, you got that?"

Talim was nervous. This was sudden. She didn't expect any of this. She started to stare down at her feet. Ivy grabbed Talim by the chin and forced her to make eye contact.

"Do you hear me, you little freak? Am I making myself clear?" Ivy said.

"Yes." Talim said.

Ivy reached into Talim's hair and pulled out one of her pink clips. She crushed it in her hand and tossed it aside.

"You've got a shitty name, Talim. It sounds weird." Ivy said.

Talim murmured.

"It's Filipino."

Ivy ignored Talim's words and let go of her.

"Don't let me catch you near him again." She said. She sharply snapped Talim's bra strap to make her point clear.

Ivy left the restroom. Talim put her shirt back on.

"Well… I guess there's still hope. The day isn't over yet." She thought.

She left the women's room. A few people stared at the huge orange cheese stain on her shirt that she couldn't get out.

Near the end of the day, Talim came to the class she had been dreading most: physical education. It wasn't that she was bad. Talim was usually good at sports, especially ones that required her to be quick and nimble. No, the problem was that Talim was afraid of what people might find out about her.

"Talim? Hey, how's it going. What happened to you at lunch?"

It was Amy. Talim sighed and told the truth.

"Ivy told me to back off. She doesn't want me to be seen near Raphael."

"I know. I don't like her either. She treats me like a kid." Amy said.

Before they could say anything more, the gym coach, Ms. Lattrilovsky, blew her whistle and began the lecture.

"Starting tomorrow, I need everyone to start bringing your gym clothes to class."

Talim raised her hand.

"Ms. L? Ms. L?"

"Yes, Talim?"

"What if we can't bring any gym clothes?" She said.

"Then you'll stink and I'll fail you. This class isn't that hard, people. It can work wonders for your GPA. All you need to do is change into your gym clothes every day and try your best. You don't have to be good, in fact most of your probably suck. You just have to try."

Talim tried not to let her fear show. Back in middle school, they didn't make her change into gym clothes. The truth was easier to hide back then. Talim was frightened at the thought that she would have to undress in a room full of other girls who could all see her secret clearly:

Talim was a hermaphrodite.


	2. Hotdog Surprise

Chapter 2

Hotdog Surprise

Talim walked home from school alone. Amy and Raphael travelled together, so that was out. It was a little sad for Talim, but she tried to be optimistic.

"Maybe Ivy will cool down. Maybe Raph will break up with her." She thought.

Once she reached her house, Talim was greeted by her mother, Lidi.

"Welcome home! How was your first day of school?" She said.

"It was okay. I made a friend. Her name's Amy." Talim said.

"Oh! That's good. You could use a friend or two."

Talim didn't have a lot of friends in middle school. By the end of 8th grade, all of them had either moved or were going to a different high school.

"Well, your father's cooking dinner and should be done in an hour. Go do your homework and be ready by the time he's done." Lidi said.

"Yes, Mom." Talim replied.

Talim wasn't one to disobey her parents. Back when she was a small child, she was very unruly. Her parents disciplined her by making her hold weights for hours on end. If she dropped them, they'd spank her. Some might say that this was torture, but Talim was out of control. She'd antagonize other children, scream things at the top of her lungs, and embarrass her parents with her behavior. The final straw was when she wanted to see her grandmother fall down the stairs by placing sticks of butter at the top. …It was a time that she didn't like to think about.

Talim entered her room and was greeted by her squawking bird, Alun.

"Hey. You hungry?" Talim said.

She gave Alun some birdseed and sat down with her bookbag. She thought about changing her shirt, but didn't.

"What's the point? I'm not going out again today." She thought.

She worked at her homework for a while. Alun watched as she did the standard first day of school homework: filling out emergency cards, reading textbook introductions, studying basics, lab safety notes… She eventually got to the last assignment of the day, packing her gym clothes.

"Okay… It shouldn't be too hard. R… Right?"

She grabbed an old trick-or-treat bag that she used to use for Halloween when she was younger. It was big enough to stuff a spare t-shirt, gym shorts, and deodorant into it. She was still nervous. She turned to her pet.

"Oh Alun, what if they find out? What will they say?"

Alun didn't answer. Talim knew that he couldn't talk or understand her, but she liked to think it could. It made her feel like someone was listening to her.

"Do you think they'll accept me? Or maybe I can keep it a secret? Oh lord, I hope I can." She said.

Talim heard her mom from the kitchen.

"Dinner's done."

\/V\/VA/\A/\

The next day, Talim decided to sit alone at lunch, in an attempt to avoid Ivy and Raphael. She saw them sit down a few tables away from her, but seemed to disregard her otherwise. Two other girls sat down with them. They were Ivy's friends, the Alexandra twins, Cassandra and Sophitia. Raphael groaned when they sat next to him.

"Ivy, can we sit somewhere else?" He said.

Cassandra stopped him.

"No, stick around. We have just the juiciest story about…"

Talim couldn't listen to all of it. She started to eat her lunch. Amy sat down with her.

"…There's only four to a table and my brother's surrounded in sluts." Amy said.

"Who, those girls?" Talim said, looking at Cassandra and Sophitia.

Amy nodded.

"You know the rumors about them, right?" Amy said.

She moved in close to whisper to Talim.

"Over the summer, word is that Sophitia got pregnant."

"Oh! Wow. I couldn't have a kid, not yet anyway." Talim said.

"She didn't have anything. She got rid of it." Amy said.

Talim shuddered. She didn't want to think about how that felt.

"Oh, and Cassandra? Word is that she dyked out with Mina a couple of weeks ago."

"Who's Mina?" Talim said.

"Just another one of Ivy's bitchy friends. You'll know her when you see her." Amy said.

She sighed.

"You know, for being the 'cool' girls, they aren't all that cool." Amy continued.

"Well, being cool isn't everything." Talim said.

That's what she told herself anyway. Deep down, Talim wanted to have lots of friends and be surrounded in people who would support her, pay attention to her, and notice her.

Talim and Amy continued to eat their lunches together until they heard loud laughter coming from the other table. It was Ivy. She was looking to Cassandra and Sophitia while they were staring at her. Ivy said some words that Talim couldn't hear before all three of them laughed.

"Oh lord. She's saying nasty things about me, isn't she?" Talim thought.

She tried to ignore them.

"So, how's your class going? Did the history teacher give you that presentation?" Talim said.

Amy nodded.

"I'm going to do mine on the history of Poland. It looks fun. I'm…"

Ivy's table erupted into laugher again. Amy frowned.

"Bunch of fucking hyenas." She grumbled.

The rest of the day went as Talim expected. Homework was collected. Homework was assigned. Classes came and went. Then, she reached her gym class. Talim stared at the locker room entrance and tried not to get nervous.

"Okay. We'll just wait." She thought.

Talim waited for everyone else to go in so that she could change last, when no one else was around. She even waited for a few other students to walk out before going in. The locker room itself was fairly clean, though that was because it was still the beginning of the year. Later on, it would have an eternal scent of body odor and deodorant and perfume that poorly masked the stench. It looked like most of the other students were already finishing up.

"Right. This shouldn't be too hard." Talim thought.

She walked into a corner where no one would notice her. She moved quickly, slipping out of her normal clothes as fast as she could. As she opened up her Halloween bag to get her gym clothes, she heard someone behind her.

"Hey, Talim."

It was Amy. Talim didn't want to face her. The bulge in her underwear, the place where her extra anatomy could be noticed, would be in clear view.

"What do you think of my jersey? Cute?" Amy said.

Talim tried not to face her and began to slip her first leg into her gym shorts on.

"Just a second." She said.

Talim fumbled around, nervous from the thought of her secret being discovered. She tried to slip her other leg into her gym shorts, but was careless.

"Crap!" She thought.

Talim had tried to put both legs into the same hole. She couldn't keep her balance for long and fell down onto the floor.

"Need help?" Amy grabbed Talim's hand and helped her to her feet. That was when Amy noticed it, the bulge. Talim finished slipping the gym shorts on, hoping that Amy wouldn't notice. She tried to move on.

"Your jersey is cute, Amy." Talim said.

Her friend was silent. She was still staring at Talim's gym shorts, not sure if what she saw was real or if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

"Let's go. Gym class awaits!" Talim said.

Putting on her usual cheerful demeanor didn't do anything. Amy was still freaked out. She thought about saying something about it, but didn't.

"Yeah. Off to gym class." Amy said.


	3. Geometry

Chapter 3

Geometry

A week passed, uneventful. Talim was able to use her strategy of changing last to hide her extra anatomy. Ivy and her friends generally left her and Amy alone. There was a test coming up though, an important test on geometry. Talim was never the best at Math, but Amy was pretty good at it. It was the end of the day, right when Amy was about to break away and walk home with her brother, Raphael.

"Wait, Amy." Talim said.

"Yes?" She replied.

"…I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my place and maybe study a little. I mean, you're good at geometry, and sometimes I just don't get it, and…"

"Yeah. I'll help you." Amy said.

Talim cheered.

"Yay! Thank you so much, Amy. Seriously, I can't fail my first test. Like seriously, I can't." She said.

Talim led Amy back to her house. They were greeted by Talim's Mom. She seemed a bit surprised to see Amy.

"Welcome home, Talim."

"Hi, Mom! This is Amy. Can she help me study?"

Lidi inspected Amy, just to be sure that she didn't look dangerous.

"You're Amy?" She said.

"Yep. I'm Amy."

"Well, okay. You can study together. Just don't be too loud, though." Lidi said.

"Great! Thanks, Mom!"

Talim rushed up to her room with Amy and pulled out her geometry books.

"A squared plus B squared equals C squared."

"To find slope, you do rise over run."

"To find the hypotenuse of a right triangle, you add the two other sides, and then square root…"

The two studied for hours. Talim started to get tired.

"All this geometry… I swear, I'm going to start seeing letters and numbers on everything by the time we're done." She said.

Amy let out a giggle.

"It's not that hard. You just need to memorize the formulas." She said.

Talim yawned.

"I need a nap."

"You could take a quick one. I won't mind." Amy said.

"You're right! Here, I'll sleep on my textbook. Maybe that'll get those math formulas into my head." Talim replied.

Amy knew that her friend was joking, but still groaned. Talim shut off the lights in her room. Amy left to give her friend some peace and quiet. She walked downstairs and sat on the couch.

Amy watched some television, only marginally interested. Talim's mom, Lidi, entered the room.

"Oh. Hi, Mrs. Guinto." Amy said.

"Hello, Amy." Lidi said as she sat down on the couch.

She watched a little bit with Amy until a commercial came on.

"How's Talim?" Lidi asked.

"Okay. She needed a nap." Amy replied.

Lidi let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, that's her. One minute she's exploding with energy, the next she's ready to fall down." She said.

Amy thought about bringing up something on her mind. She wasn't sure if it would be rude or not, but it was bothering her.

"Mrs. Guinto?" Amy said.

"Yes, Amy?"

"Is Talim… Is her body all right?" She said.

Lidi wasn't sure what Amy meant.

"What do you mean, Amy?"

"I mean…" Amy paused before going on. "…I saw something on her last week. It was…"

Lidi stopped her.

"Oh. You mean her penis?"

Amy was surprised by Lidi's bluntness.

"I mean, I didn't see it, but I saw the outline of it, and I wasn't sure." Amy said.

Lidi let out another short laugh.

"She was born with it. The doctor was going to cut it off back when she was a baby, but we never got around to doing anything."

"Oh. I see." Amy said.

She paused for a moment. There was a short, awkward silence.

"It doesn't work, does it?" Amy said.

"No. It's non-functional." Lidi replied.

There was another awkward silence.

"Well, I should probably wake her up. It's getting late and we still have more material to go over." Amy said.

They studied for the rest of the night.


	4. Fun

Chapter 4

Fun

It was two days after the big geometry test. Both Talim and Amy passed. Amy was alone at lunch, though. Talim was home, sick with a fever. Amy was eating her processed soy burger, a little bit sad that no one else was with her.

"Well, this sucks." Amy thought.

She took another bite out of her burger when Ivy approached her. Amy rolled her eyes.

"Hey. Amy. You want to join us?" Ivy said.

"Okay." Amy replied.

She wanted to say "no", but figured that there was no reason not to. She even decided that if Ivy got too insufferable, she'd go back to eating alone. Amy sat next to her brother, Raphael. The other girl with Ivy, Mina, gave Amy a look.

"Where's your friend?" Mina said to Amy.

"She's sick." Amy replied.

Mina chuckled.

"You know, I don't see why you hang out with her. She's super annoying." Ivy said.

Amy thought about saying something, but decided against it. There was no reason to start a conflict. She took another bite out of her burger.

"You should leave her, Amy." Raphael said.

Amy was a little surprised that her own brother suggested this, but didn't show it. Ivy put on a smile.

"If you do, I can hook you up with a real hot guy. You want that?" Ivy said.

"Not really." Amy said.

"What, then? Are you some kind of lesbo, then?" Ivy cut in.

Raphael laughed.

"She's not. She's into both!" He said.

Amy started to get mad. Her stoic demeanor was starting to fall apart.

"Shut up, Raph." She said.

"Cool it, sis. We're just joking around. You know, for fun? Lighten up!"

He gave his sister a slice of bread from his plate as a way of apologizing. Amy reluctantly accepted it.

Once everyone was done eating, Ivy spoke up again.

"You know, the offer is still up in the air. I know some pretty hot guys, not as hot as Raph of course, but…"

"I can find a guy myself." Amy said.

"Really? You can? Homecoming is in a few weeks. I can get you a good date." Ivy said.

"Freshmen can't go." Amy said.

"They can if they're someone's date. I went to homecoming when I was a freshman." Mina said.

Amy thought about how nice it would be to go to the homecoming dance, but shook it out of her head. She gave a polite smile and stood up.

"It was nice hanging out with you guys. See you later." She said.

"Later, Amy." Ivy replied.

"See you at home, sis." Raphael said.

/\A/\A\/V\/V

True to his word, Raphael did see Amy when he got home. He was with Ivy, watching a movie on the couch. Amy was up in her room, listening to music while trying to write poetry. One of Amy's hobbies was taking songs that she liked and rewriting the lyrics. It was a fun timewaster and some of the stuff she made sounded pretty cool. Amy was about halfway through one of her poems when Ivy walked into her room.

"Hey, Amy. How's it going with you?" She said.

"Okay." Amy said.

She thought about turning up the music on her stereo, but Ivy sat down next to her, on her bed.

"Raph fell asleep, during the movie, the ass." Ivy said.

"What were you watching?" Amy said.

"Titanic. Have you seen it?" Ivy said.

Amy put on a smile.

"Yeah. It was okay. Too long, though. Bro's got a weak attention span."

"Yeah. That or, he just doesn't have any taste." Ivy said.

They both laughed. Ivy changed the subject.

"You know I hate your friend, right?" Ivy said.

"You mean Talim? She's not going to bother you, Ivy. She wants nothing to do with you." Amy said.

"No. You misunderstand. I don't care if I never see her again. I hate that girl. That's why I'm making you this offer: if you can get some dirt on her, I'll get you that homecoming date. Sounds fair?" Ivy said.

"I don't know…" Amy said.

Ivy put her hand on Amy's arm. Her fingers were cold. They squeezed her arm.

"You don't understand. I can give you a night of dreams. Or I can ruin your social life forever. I can make you feel pain that you never thought possible. Which will it be?"

"Don't touch me." Amy said.

Ivy put on a sinister grin. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a cute, little pink knife. It had the word "valentine" inscribed onto the blade.

"I don't want to have to use this, Amy. You're going to help me crush Talim or…"

She grabbed Amy by the hair. Amy tried to struggle. Ivy sliced a chunk of Amy's hair off and let go.

"…Or I'll scalp you, make you look like a chemo patient. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Ivy said.

Amy was starting to hate Ivy. She was also starting to hate her brother for dating her. She thought about her choices and sighed.

"Okay. Fine. I'll tell you." Amy said.

Ivy nodded.

"Go on. What is it?"

Amy could feel the evil radiating from Ivy, radiating onto herself. She felt guilty, even as she said it.

"Talim has a penis."

Ivy was shocked for a moment. She put away her pink knife.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Are you serious?" Ivy said.

"No. I shouldn't have said that. I…"

"Oh, this is great! I want to see it! No, I have to see it!" Ivy said.

"Ivy, I…"

"This is perfect. Thank you so much, Amy. Really. Thank you."

Ivy gave Amy a hug.

"You are officially an honorary member of The Ivy Fun Club. Congratulations!" Ivy said.

Amy sighed.

"Yay. Go me."

There was not a hint of enthusiasm in her voice.


	5. The Human Need

Chapter 5

The Human Need

It was the next day, near the end of gym class. Talim had worked up a sweat playing basketball all day. She was good at it, one of the better players in her class. She was sitting down in the bleachers, with Amy, waiting for the rest of the class to change before she went in. It usually wasn't a long wait, since there was a big rush to go home now that the day was over. The coach, Ms. L, even left early that day.

"I need more practice, especially if I'm going to get better." Amy said.

"Hey now, I think you did good. You scored two points, didn't you?" Talim said.

Amy gave Talim a quick smile before the atmosphere thickened. It was Ivy, and her friends. They stayed near the gym exit while Ivy walked toward Amy.

"Crap. What do they want? I've been staying away from them!" Talim said.

"I think she wants me." Amy said.

Ivy approached.

"Hey, Amy! Mind if I talk to you for a moment?" Ivy said.

"Can it wait?" Amy said.

"No. It can't. Come with me." Ivy said.

She took Amy by the wrist and pulled her away. Talim didn't want to go near Ivy. She stayed back at the bleachers.

Ivy took Amy to her friends, Cassandra, Sophitia, and Mina. The whole Ivy Fun Club was there. They all looked very pleased to see Amy.

"Okay, now I have my phone with me…" Ivy said.

She reached into her pocket and took it out.

"…You just need to sit back and guard the door. Think you can do that?" She continued.

Amy already knew what Ivy had planned.

"I… I think so." Amy said.

Cassandra threw her hands up into the air.

"Great! Oh, this is going to be awesome." She said.

Sophitia patted Amy on the back.

"Welcome to The Ivy Fun Club, Amy. You're going to love it here."

No one else was in the girl's locker room. It was a perfect chance for Talim to sneak in and change without anyone looking. She moved to her locker and pulled out her bag, which was filled with her regular clothes. Before she could do anything, Talim heard a voice calling out to her.

"Talim, don't!"

It was Amy. She looked exasperated.

"Amy? What's up?" Talim said.

Before she could say anything more, Ivy walked in.

"Hey there, Talim. How's it hanging?"

Talim could hear giggling outside. It was Ivy's friends. They followed their leader in. Talim tried to act tough.

"What do you want, Ivy?" She said.

"Oh, not much. Just a look at your ding-dong." Ivy said.

Talim was shocked.

"What?"

"Your cock, Talim. I know you have one. Show it to me. Now."

Talim wasn't sure how Ivy found out about her secret. She put up her fists.

"No damn way."

She took a swing at Ivy. Her fist met Ivy's face. She was knocked back.

"You… You hit me, you piece of shit!" Ivy growled.

"I'll hit you again too. Now back off." Talim said.

Ivy refused. She grabbed her knife from her pocket, Valentine.

"You really want to do this? Really?" Ivy said.

Talim raised her fists. Ivy turned to her friends.

"Sophitia, Mina, hold her down."

The two of Ivy's goons approached Talim. She called out to Amy.

"Come on, help me! We can take these two lame-wads together!"

Cassandra turned to Amy.

"You aren't really going to help her, are you?"

Amy stayed silent. She wanted to help her friend, but fear took hold of her. Ivy controlled the situation. She had three other girls to back her up and she had a knife. Amy and Talim could not have taken them on their own.

"Get off!" Talim shouted.

She struggled while Mina grabbed her arms. Sophitia held down her legs.

"Get off! Get off!" Talim shouted again.

Ivy turned to Amy.

"Beat her." She said.

Amy was speechless.

"You heard her. Beat Talim. Beat her!" Cassandra said.

Sophitia and Mina chanted.

"Beat her! Beat her! Beat her!"

"Come on, Amy. You're in the fun club, so have some fun! Beat her!" Ivy said.

It hurt Amy to do this, but she balled up her fists.

"Amy?" Talim said.

"I'm sorry."

Amy slammed her fists into Talim's gut. She felt sick, like she could have been punching herself.

"Her face! Go for her face!" Cassandra shouted.

Amy didn't want to. She went for Talim's gut again.

"Give her a kick! Kick her shins!" Ivy said.

Amy felt as though they were controlling her body. She didn't want to hurt Talim, but had to. She kicked Talim, right in the shins. Her friend screeched out in pain.

"Oh, yes! You go, Amy!" Cassandra said.

Talim was reeling in pain. Tears were in her eyes. She was sobbing, profusely. Ivy cut in.

"Okay, that's enough. We're here to see her cock, right?"

Ivy's friends nodded.

"Mina, get her shirt. Sophitia, get her shorts." Ivy said.

Her friends complied. Mina pulled off Talim's shirt. Sophitia pulled off Talim's shorts. They both dropped her on the ground. She was wearing only her bra and panties. Ivy noticed Talim's bulge and smiled.

"Oh… So it's true! You do have a penis, don't you?" She said.

Ivy approached Talim with her knife.

"Go away." Talim said. Her voice was raspy from the pain. Ivy ignored her.

"Go… away." Talim gasped.

Ivy grabbed Talim by the arm.

"Hold still or I'll cut your ear off." Ivy said.

She moved her knife through Talim's bra. Once it was loose, Ivy yanked it off. Talim tried to cover up her toplessness, but Ivy punched her in the face.

"I told you to hold still, you little bitch."

Ivy punched Talim again. She fell down, onto the floor. Ivy sliced her knife through Talim's panties and tore them off. That was when she finally saw it, Talim's penis. It was small, and somewhat ugly and shriveled up. It looked more like the kind of penis an old man would have than a teenager. Ivy was instantly impressed.

"Wow, what a tiny cock. Amy, look! Look at Talim's cock and laugh at it!" She said.

Ivy began to point at Talim's penis and laugh. She tried to cover it up. Cassandra, Sophitia, and Mina joined in. The pointed at Talim and laughed. Ivy moved close to Amy.

"Laugh with us, Amy. Laugh!" She said.

She elbowed Amy in the ribs. Amy pointed her finger at Talim and started to laugh. It started out sounding fake, but then it was real.

"Isn't it fun?" Ivy said.

"…You know what? This is pretty fun." Amy replied.

Talim muttered something under her breath. No one could hear it. Mina grabbed her by the wrists, so that everyone could see her penis again.

"Your cock is so small and weird, Talim. You should just chop it off." Amy said.

Ivy pulled out her phone and took some pictures of Talim, naked, crying, and with a fully visible penis.

"Okay, we got her. Put her down." Ivy said.

Mina complied and let go of Talim's wrists.

"Hey, who's up for some ice cream? I know I want some." Ivy said.

"I could go for a snack." Sophitia said.

The Fun Club high fived each other and left the locker room. Talim got back up and put her clothes on.

"Amy…" She said as she got dressed.

"Why?"


	6. Scarlet Thunder

Chapter 6

Scarlet Thunder

Talim returned home that day. Her mom was mad.

"Where have you been? You're late." Lidi said.

"Mom, I can explain. My…" She started to cry.

"Oh, you are such a drama queen."

"No, they kept me after school. They… They took pictures of me. They held me down, naked." Talim said.

Talim's mom didn't believe her.

"Go to your room and study." She said.

/\A/\A\/V\/V

The next day, Talim didn't want to go to school. When her alarm went off, she didn't get up. Even her bird, Alun knew something was wrong. He chirped at Talim, hoping that she'd move.

"I'll feed you later." She mumbled.

A few more minutes went by. Lidi barged into her room.

"Talim, why aren't you up?" She said.

"I feel sick."

Lidi put her hand on Talim's forehead.

"You don't feel sick to me." She said.

"No, I feel awful. I don't want to go to school." Talim said.

Her mom yanked her out of bed.

"You're going to school."

After Talim took a shower and changed, she went straight for the door. She planned on hiding in the park instead of going to school.

"Where are you going? You didn't eat breakfast." Lidi said.

"I'm not hungry." Talim said.

Lidi followed Talim out the door.

"I'll drive you today." She said.

Talim reluctantly went into the car. It was as if her mom knew that she planned on skipping school that day.

While in the car, Lidi spoke to her daughter.

"So, what is it? A test? A boy? Why don't you want to go to school today?" She said.

"Bullies." Talim said.

Lidi let out a chuckle.

"Talim, bullies are weak. Just stand up to them and they'll crumble." Lidi said.

"Okay, Mom." Talim said without a hint of enthusiasm.

Lidi pulled up to the school to drop her daughter off.

"Be good, okay? Learn a lot. Oh, and don't forget: I love you." She said.

"I love you to, Mom." Talim said.

She left the car and walked into school.

Almost immediately, Talim was greeted by Mina.

"Hey there, porn star."

Talim tried to ignore her.

"I put your photos up online. Some perv is probably jacking off to them right now." Mina said.

Talim continued to ignore her. She walked to her first class, trying not to think about what Mina said.

Later on in the day, when it was lunch, Talim ate alone. She noticed Amy sitting with Ivy, Cassandra, and Sophitia. She faced away from them. She couldn't stand to see her former friend as an enemy. She started to take a bite out of her soy burger, until she saw Mina sit down next to her.

"Hey there, Talim. Let's hang out." She said.

Talim was silent. She started to get up to leave, until Mina grabbed her by the arm.

"That wasn't a choice. Now let's have lunch together so we don't have to be alone." Mina said.

Talim sat back down. Her heart was racing. She wasn't sure if she could enjoy her school lunch if she was sitting next to a bully.

"Your photo got some real upvotes on reddit, Talim. They think that you're a real hottie." Mina said.

Talim was starting to get angry.

"Hot?" Talim growled.

"Oh yeah. You got all kinds of comments, like 'Chicks With Dicks For The Win' and 'Fap, Fap, Fap'. They loved you!"

Talim remembered what her mother told her, that bullies crumbled if she could stand up to them.

"It's time to take a stand." Talim thought.

With anger as her strength and no pride to lose, Talim grabbed a fistful of mashed potatoes in her hands. Mina wasn't sure what she was looking at until it was too late.  
"Fuck you, Mina!"

She flung the chunk of steaming hot potatoes at Mina's face. It was a direct hit. Mina screamed. The gravy was burning her eyes. Talim smiled.

"You want more, bitch? Huh?"

She stood up and grabbed Mina by the hair. Many students in the lunchroom watched. Raphael seemed to be enjoying this.

"Catfight!" He said.

Talim yanked on Mina's hair. She grumbled obscenities that didn't make sense. She could feel blood rushing to her face as she beat Mina. Tears even streamed down her face, she was so mad.

"I'll kill you. I'll kill you!" Talim shouted.

She wound up to hit Mina in the face, until she felt something in her stomach, shaking. It was nauseating, like someone was jostling her insides and kicking them. She let go of Mina and held her gut in pain. Mina stood up. She wiped the mashed potatoes and gravy off of her face and smiled. There was a red stun gun in her hand, one that she pulled out of her purse.

"Talim, say hello to Scarlet Thunder."

Talim tried to get back up. Her stomach hurt, but not enough to stop her. She threw a punch at Mina, but her opponent was too quick. She ducked and shocked Talim again, this time in the groin. Mina zapped her directly in the penis. She screeched in pain and fell down. A boy watching even called out, "You go, Mina. Zap that fool!"

Mina rolled Talim's shirt up so that she could see her tummy.

"I hope you liked that burger. You'll be tasting it again."

She zapped Talim, right on her stomach. The pain was too much for her. She felt like her insides were being squeezed and shaken by a monster. She threw up, all over herself. The whole lunchroom erupted in sound and fury.

"Eew!"

Mina readied herself for the finishing move. She turned Talim around and reached underneath her shorts. She was going for it, the classic bullying technique, the atomic wedgie. The lunchroom even began to chant.

"Wedgie! Wedgie! Wedgie!"

Mina pulled up on Talim's underwear. She yanked it hard, as hard as she could.

"Does it hurt, porn star?" Mina taunted.

Talim could feel her underwear digging into both sets of her genitals. She tried to struggle free, until Mina dropped her. The lunchroom was silent. It was the assistant principal. She was not pleased. Mina pointed to her victim.

"She started it! She threw potatoes in my face!"

"I don't care who did what. You're both getting ISS."

ISS: In School Suspension.

It was a penalty where students had to sit in a room for half a day and do homework. If they were out of homework, they were given more assignments to keep them busy. Talim got up.

"No! She was bullying me! I was standing up for myself!" She protested.

"I don't care. You two were fighting, so you both get the penalty."

"I shouldn't be punished! I…" The assistant principal cut her off.

"I don't care about your self-respect or whatever. The rules are the rules."

Talim sighed, feeling utterly defeated. She readjusted her underwear, wiped the vomit off of her face, and sat down.


	7. Feeling Special

Chapter 7

Feeling Special

Amy was with Mina, at her house, in her room. They were studying together for a geometry class. Mina was never the best at math and she wanted good grades so that she could get into a good college.

"…and on your graphing calculator, you should get a bell curve." Amy said.

Mina yawned.

"We've been at this crap for a while. How about we take a break?" She said.

"Sure." Amy said.

Mina pulled her laptop from underneath her bed and opened it up.

"How about we check up on our favorite little porn star?" Mina said.

There were all kinds of nasty comments on Talim's nudes. Amy couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Do you think we went too far?" She said.

"Nah. Talim's a little bitch." Mina said.

"Are you sure? She seemed to be fighting back pretty hard at lunch today." Amy said.

"Oh, that's just because we haven't broken her yet. Ivy's got that planned for tomorrow. It's going to be super fun!" Mina said.

"Broken her?" Amy said.

"You know, destroy her fighting spirit. Show her that no matter how hard she tries, she'll never win. We are better than her, Amy. When she finally realizes it, we'll find a new target. That's how it always works." Mina said.

Amy was a little shocked.

"You've done this before?"

"Yep. Last year, we gave this girl named Tira an Ivy Special. It messed her up so much, she had to get institutionalized. After that, she transferred to a different school and we never saw that bitch again." Mina said.

Amy shuddered to think what an "Ivy Special" was.

"You just wait, Amy. Tomorrow, you will be in for the time of your life." Mina said.

V\/V\/A/\A/\

The next day was a straightforward one for Talim. She attended her morning classes, at lunch alone without incident, and spent the rest of the day in ISS. It was a good opportunity to catch up on her work. It was a bit of a relief for her, partially because she didn't have to worry about anyone bothering her.

Once ISS was over, Talim started to walk home, until she noticed Ivy waiting for her at the front door. She thought about turning around and leaving the school through another door, until she saw Cassandra and Sophitia behind her.

"Going somewhere?" Ivy said as she approached.

"Leave me alone." Talim said.

She pulled a book out of her bookbag and brandished it like a weapon.

"You got the drugs?" Cassandra said to her sister.

Sophitia nodded. She reached into her pocket and grabbed a bottle of pills. Ivy and Cassandra tackled Talim, both at once. They held her down. Sophitia approached.

"Open wide!" She said.

Sophitia squeezed Talim's cheeks to force her mouth open. She slipped the pills in and plugged Talim's nose. She tried to spit them out, but it wasn't working. Ivy massaged Talim's neck to help the pills go down.

"Come on and swallow. It's fun!" Ivy said.

Talim had no choice but to swallow. Ivy and Cassandra let go of her.

Talim got up.

"What the hell did you do to me?" She said.

"You know roofies, the date rape drug? I got some from a friend. Have a nice trip." Sophitia said.

Talim knew that. Rohypenol usually took ten to thirty minutes before it "kicked in". In her mind, she had ten minutes to get home. She began to run. Ivy blocked her again.

"Where do you think you're going?" She said.

"Get out of my way." Talim said.

She tried to throw a punch at Ivy. She missed. Ivy shoved her knee into Talim's gut. She fell over, dazed.

"Here, let's load her into my car, before anyone catches us." Cassandra said.

"No, let's wait. I want to tire this bitch out." Ivy said.

Ivy didn't care if she got caught. The school would never punish her. Her father was the head of the school's booster club. He raised thousands of dollars from fund raisers in the last few years. If she were to get into any sort of trouble, administration would quietly sweep it under the rug. Cassandra and Sophitia, however, didn't have the luxury."

"Come on, sis. Help me move her." Cassandra said.

Sophitia nodded and helped lift Talim. Ivy frowned, but said nothing.

Cassandra, Sophitia, and Ivy drove Talim, who was unconscious, to the YMCA. It was closed at the time, but Ivy had keys to get in. She worked there one year as a housekeeper, just a fancy word for "janitor". It was only a summer job, but she received keys to get in. She never gave her keys back. The girl's locker room was her place where she could do her "Ivy Special". She even had her own locker, filled with some of the materials required.

Ivy and the Alexandra twins took Talim into the women's locker room. Ivy opened up her locker and pulled out some duct tape. She began to pull off Talim's clothes.

"I'll bind her arms and legs. You two wait outside for Mina and Amy." She said.

Cassandra frowned.

"I wanted to bind her." She whined.

She left with her sister and waited in the lobby.

Cassandra and Sophitia waited for a few minutes before Mina and Amy arrived. They had a grocery bag filled with chocolate laxatives. The Alexandra twins greeted them once they arrived.

"Ivy's got all the prep work done." Sophitia said with a sinister grin.

Amy giggled.

"So, we're going to make her shit herself?" She said.

Cassandra smiled.

"You'll see, Amy. It's going to be super fun."

The Alexandra twins led Amy and Mina to the girl's locker room. They saw Ivy there with Talim bound in duct tape. Talim was completely naked, her shriveled penis on full display.

"You got the chocolate?" Ivy said.

Mina nodded.

"Cool. It'll take a few hours before she wakes up. How about we see a movie and come back when she's up?" Ivy said.

"Sounds great."

"Yeah!"

"Let's go!"

The Ivy Fun Club left Talim in the locker room. They turned out the lights, locked up the YMCA, and left to go see a movie.

A/\A/\V\/V\/

It was late at night. The Ivy Fun Club returned to the YMCA after their movie. Sure enough, Talim was still there, unconscious.

"You think she's still roofied up?" Mina said.

Ivy stepped forward. She kicked Talim.

"Wakie, wakie!"

Talim groaned. Ivy grew frustrated. She kicked Talim again.

"Wake up!"

Talim felt sick. She wasn't sure where she was or how she got there. She moaned in pain. Ivy turned to her followers and smiled.

"Okay, everyone! Let's have some chocolate!"

Sophitia grabbed the bag of chocolate laxatives and handed them out to the fun club. Amy was confused.

"Wait, weren't we going to make her shit herself?" She said.

"Oh no, Amy. We're going to shit on her. That's an Ivy Special." Ivy said.

Amy was nervous. At this point, she knew that Ivy was insane. She wanted to stop. She wanted to tell them that this was going too far. She didn't, though.

"That could be me." Amy thought, looking at Talim.

She unwrapped her chocolate laxative and took a bite. She felt horrible.

"Talim used to be my friend. I was sitting with her at lunch just last week! What the hell is wrong with me?" Amy thought.

Fear consumed her. She watched as Sophitia pulled her panties off from underneath her skirt. Cassandra cheered as her sister squatted over Talim's body.

"You go, Sophitia! Shit on her!"

Talim started to cry. The room starting to stink more than it usually did.

"It's a big one!" Sophitia said.

A long, snake-like string of poop made its way out of Sophitia's butt. It plopped right onto Talim's abdomen. She rolled over to try to get it off of her. It only fell down and was crushed underneath her back.

"That smell will never come out." Ivy said.

She pulled down her pants and squatted right above Talim's face. Talim tried to wiggle away, but was too slow. The poop slid out of Ivy's butt and right into Talim's hair.

"Stop!" Talim cried. Tears ran down her poop-stained face.

Ivy laughed.

"Amy, crunch up the poop. Really get it into her hair." She said.

Amy was disgusted.

"I'm not touching that."

"Come on, Amy. It'll be fun." Ivy said.

"Do it, Amy. Do it!" Cassandra said.

Amy sighed. She moved in close to Talim's head and crunched up Ivy's poop. She could see tears in her former friend's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Talim. Please forgive me." Amy whispered.

Talim didn't say anything. Once she was done spreading the poop, Ivy gave her next order.

"Okay, now shit on her."

Amy felt her stomach turning. The laxative had taken effect. She sighed and pulled her pants down.

"I'm so very, very sorry." She whispered.

Amy tried to miss Talim on purpose. Her poop landed next to Talim rather than on her.

"Fail." Mina said.

She pushed Amy aside and took her turn pooping on Talim. Cassandra was last. Cassandra squatted right over Talim's breasts and pushed with all her might. With a loud fart, a stixky wet turd bounced off of Talim's neck and tumbled down her body and onto her stomach. Talim screamed in horror. Cassandra laughed and high-fived her sister.

"Good one, Cassie!" Sophitia said.

By the time they were done, the smell in the room was unbearable. Amy wanted to leave.

"Right, well… We should go now." She said.

She started to leave.

"Hold on, Amy." Ivy said as she grabbed Amy's arm.

"An Ivy special isn't complete without the best part." She continued.

Ivy held out her arm and pointed at Talim. The rest of the Ivy Fun Club joined in. They all laughed. They all laughed at Talim, utterly defeated and covered in human waste. Amy pretended to laugh. She was feeling conflicted. On one hand, she could have resisted and stayed friends with Talim. On the other hand, then she would have been tied up with Talim and subjected to an "Ivy Special". Once they were done laughing, Ivy led her Fun Club out and locked Talim in.

"Those monsters." Talim said, once she was alone.

She fell asleep that night. The YMCA wouldn't open until morning. She was stuck there, covered in other people's dung, for a whole night.


	8. The Lost Soul

Chapter 8

The Lost Soul

Talim felt warm. She could feel something in the air moving around her, something unnatural. She opened her eyes and saw a light, a fire burning in the middle of the locking room. It only lasted for a few seconds, but there was smoke. It made her cough.

"Hello, young girl." A voice said.

It sounded otherworldly, like it belonged to a creature that was not from this world. Talim wasn't sure if this was real, or if it was a dream, or a hallucination from all of the poop fumes that she'd inhaled.

"Can I free you?" The voice said.

"What?" Talim said.

"Can I free you, from the duct tape?" It said again.

"Please." Talim replied.

She watched as a soft, feminine hand reached from the darkness. Its fingers turned to blades and shredded the duct tape wrapped around Talim's body. Talim tried to stand up, but was still weak from the roofies and still from being forced to stay still for so long. She tripped on the flood and landed in the pill of dung that The Ivy Fun Club left her.

"Damn." She said a small tear escaping her eyes.

"Here, let me help you up." The voice said.

Talim could see someone taking her hand. The person pulled her up, back to her feet. It was too dark to tell who it was.

"Come with me." The voice said.

"Where?" Talim said.

"I can clean you up. Come on, before this place opens and they catch you." The voice said.

Talim didn't feel like explaining why she didn't come home that night to her parents. She also didn't feel like explaining why she was completely naked and covered in human waste. She also felt as though the voice was calling her, like she'd be much happier if she followed it. It was a strange urge, almost a primal one.

"Okay. I'll go." Talim said.

A star shape formed in the darkness, made of ethereal light. Talim could feel her body trembling. She felt a little sick. In a flash of light, they were gone, gone from Earth, and into a different realm.

Talim landed in a grassy field, her insides hurting from being teleported. She fell to her knees and threw up a little.

"Easy. Easy." The voice said.

She could feel someone with very soft hands patting her on the back. Talim turned around and saw who they belonged to. It was a woman, one that looked a little bit older than her. She was dressed as a clown, but with no makeup. Her appearance startled Talim.

"Hey, don't worry. It's just me, Tira. I saw what those bullies did to you, you know. They did it to me too."

"You mean…" Talim stammered.

"Yeah, an Ivy special." Tira said.

Her friendly voice turned angry.

"They can all die, all of them."

"Tira?" Talim said.

Tira's voice turned friendly again.

"Yeah, Talim?"

"You're scary." Talim said.

"Aw. I try not to be." Tira said.

Talim looked around and saw where she was. There were peaceful hills, covered in tall grass and wildflowers. The sky was cloudy gray. It looked like it was about to rain. There was a cottage close by, one that looked out of place in modern times. It was made of logs and had a thatch roof.

"See that house?" Tira said.

Talim nodded.

"My friend lives there. He's a real good guy." Tira said.

"What's his name?" Talim asked.

Tira shrugged.

"I don't know. He never told me." She replied.

She led Talim into the cottage. No one was home. Talim saw Tira's couch, a very comfortable looking one. She wanted to lay down on it. She started to move toward it.

"Can it wait?" Tira said.

"Please, just a little?" Talim said.

Tira shook her head.

"We have to wash all the poopy off of you, silly-head. Then, you can rest."

That was when Talim remembered that she was still covered in The Ivy Fun Club's filth. She noticed Tira grabbing some soap, shampoo, and towels.

"We'll need the heavy duty stuff for this." Tira said.

Once Tira had all of her materials ready, she started to leave. She did, until Talim heard someone coming from the cellar.

"Tira?" She said.

She saw a skeleton. He smelled strange, like burnt hair. His body had no flesh, save for one eye in his skull. It was like something out of a horror movie. Tira turned to him.

"Hey, there!" She said.

The skeleton chuckled.

"Hello, Tira. Taking Talim down to the river?" He said.

"Yep. She needs a cleaning!" Tira said.

"Good. Bring her back here when you're done." He said.

Talim felt uncomfortable. First, she had never seen an animated skeleton before. Second, she wasn't sure how of why he knew her name.

"…Was that your friend?" Talim said to Tira as they walked out the door.

"Yep! He's a good guy. He taught me a lot about life. He also cooks a mean beef stew too. You should try it sometime!" Tira said.

Talim still wasn't sure if she could trust that skeleton, but he seemed to want to help her. Then again, last time someone tried to help her, it was her mother, who told her to stand up to bullies. While her advice was well-intentioned, it did nothing to stop her from ending up where she was.

Tira led Talim over the hills and toward a stream. The waters were slow, but still moving. They looked crystal clear, but there was nothing in them. No fish, no plants, nothing. Talim wasn't sure what to make of this.

"The water's great! Go on in and I'll be with you soon." Tira said.

Talim walked into the stream. The water was comfortable, a perfect temperature. Talim could feel her body getting cleaner just going in. The effect was soothing. She dipped her head underwater and felt cleaner.

Tira walked into the stream with a bottle of shampoo and some soap.

"Washy-washy!" She said.

She handed Talim the soap. Tira put some shampoo onto her hand and began scrubbing the poop out of Talim's hair. The poop flowed off of her body and disappeared into the stream, as though the river were erasing it as it fell off. It felt a little weird for Talim to be bathed by another woman, but it was just nice that someone seemed to be on her side for once. The fact that tira still wore her clown suit weirded her out, though.

"You ready?" Tira said.

Talim wasn't sure what Tira meant until she felt a washcloth go over her face.

"Ah! Get it off!" Talim said.

"Not yet! We've got to get all the poopy off of you before we're done. Okay?" Tira said.

It took a while before Talim was clean. Once she was done, Talim got out of the stream and dried off with her towel.

"Clean as a whistle! Toot, toot!" Tira said.

"Thanks, Tira. Seriously, thank you." Talim said.

"Hey, it wasn't a problem. Now let's go back home. My friend and I have been working on something really special for you!"

Talim still wasn't sure if she trusted Tira's friend, but decided to go anyway. Rather than wrap the towel around her waist, she simply tossed it aside and went naked. Talim just did not care at this point.

Once they reached Tira's house, Talim noticed that the creepy skeleton man was gone. In his place there was a present, gift wrapped with care.

"Oh! It's yours, Talim. Open it! Open it!" Tira said, giddy with excitement.

Talim noticed that it even had a tag for her. "To: Talim." The "From" section was left blank. She opened the box and saw what appeared to be a large blue handgun. There was a blade on the end of the barrel, a long one. Talim was confused.

"What is this?" She said.

"It's Soul Calibur! Go on and hold it. It feels good!" Tira said.

Talim held the gunblade in her hands. Sure enough, it did feel good. It was as if the weapon had a mind of its own, melding with hers. When she held it, she felt like she could shoot anyone at any distance. She felt like she could slice through anything. It was a good feeling.

"For me?" Talim said.

"Well… Originally, I was going to use it, but then I died." Tira said.

Talim was shocked.

"What?"

"Suicide will do that to you. Tee-hee!" Tira said.

Talim was still confused.

"Wait, you're dead?"

Tira moved in close to Talim and put her hands on Talim's shoulders.

"Talim…" Tira said.

She looked serious.

"…Send them all to Hell. Make them pay for what they did, not just to me, but to you. Justice must be served." Tira said.

"Wait, what? Tira, this isn't justice. This is lunacy! I'm not killing anyone." She said.

"No, you have to. It's a human need to feel superior to one another. There's always someone at the bottom of the social ladder and… That person was me." Tira said.

"I… I'm sorry." Talim said.

"No, it's okay. You want to know why I'm a clown now? It's because I'm nobody's fool, not anymore. I won't be Ivy's fool, her girl she can whip to feel better about herself. I won't let her shit on me, or anyone else. It's not fair and it ends with you, Talim. It can all end with you." Tira said.

What about you? Do you feel the need to feel superior to someone? What if you didn't? What if your put away all of your pride? What if you honestly stopped believing that you were superior to anyone? Could you do it? Or would you become depressed, seeing that there is no one in the world who is a worse person than you?

Do you believe that violence is the answer?

I don't think it is.

But Talim does.

"Yes, Tira. I'll do it. Thank you." Talim said.

She smiled and hugged her clown friend.

"Oh, thank you, Talim. Thank you, so much." Tira said.

Talim broke from the hug and clutched Soul Calibur in her hand. Tira cast the magic spell to send Talim back. The ground lit up in the shape of a star and she was gone.


	9. Two Endings

Chapter 9

Two Endings

It was morning, shortly after school had started. Talim was in the school locker room, the place where this all started for her, the place where Ivy and her friends took it too far and shot pictures of her penis. Talim looked in the mirror in front of the sink. She was completely naked and had a weapon in her hands. She also noticed that for the first time in her life, her penis was erect. Talim wasn't sure how this was possible. Her man parts didn't actually work. She looked at her gunblade. There was something magical about it, something that could make the impossible happen, something that could make one's darkest and most psychotic dreams come true. She could hear students coming in for gym class. Soul Calibur spoke to her.

"A target is near. Subject: Mina is coming your way."

It was true. Gym was one of Mina's morning classes. It was a perfect opportunity to test her weapon.

Talim hid inside of a locker and waited. She watched students come in, change into the gym clothes, and leave. She saw Mina, one of the last girls to go in, take a locker close to her. This was Talim's chance. She jumped out and grabbed Mina by the shirt.

"Remember me?" Talim said.

Mina and the other girls in the locker room were shocked. Before any of them could react, Talim drove her blade right into Mina's neck. Her throat was slit. Talim threw the bully's body to the floor. She turned to the other girls.

"The hell are you looking at?" She said.

Talim left the locker room. A few of the girls in gym class stared at her. She ignored them and listened to her weapon's words.

"Target Mina eliminated. Next target: Sophitia. She is currently in history class."

Talim could hear the principal's voice over the Public Announcement system.

"Students, we are going into lockdown. No one is to leave their classrooms. Lock all doors. Everyone sty under their desks."

Talim remembered this protocol. She learned it through School Safety Drills, ones that had the classrooms all locked up and the students protecting themselves in case a dangerous person was on the premises. Soul Calibur spoke to her.

"Talim, the police have been informed."

"I don't care. I just need to kill a couple more people. Then I'm done." Talim said.

Talim approached Sophitia's history class. She squeezed the trigger and blew the lock off the door.

"Oh, Sophitia?" Talim said.

She kicked the door open. Sure enough, she saw Sophitia in her history class. Many of the students were huddled together in fear.

"Talim?" Sophitia said.

She broke from the huddle. Her teacher called out to her.

"Sophitia, get back down!"

Talim ignored her. She fired Soul Calibur. It would have missed, but its bullets were magic. They always hit and always killed. Sophitia fell to the ground, her chest bleeding. Talim walked away from the classroom with a satisfied smile. She could hear screaming from the classroom.

"Where's her sister?" Talim said.

"Cassandra is in the auditorium, her study hall class." Soul Calibur replied.

Talim walked toward the auditorium. She shot the door open, only to be met with screams. The students were scrambling up the stage, looking for the backstage exits. Some of them broke through the windows to try to flee.

"Fire. I'll be sure you hit." Soul Calibur said.

Talim squeezed the trigger. She saw someone fall down. She wasn't sure if it was Cassandra, until she heard a boy scream out in despair.

"Cassie? Cassie? Get up, Cassie! Get up!"

"Target Eliminated. Next target, Ivy. She is escaping through the window across the hallway."

Talim left the auditorium. There were students running and panicking through the halls. Some of them stopped to stare. A naked hermaphrodite with a gunblade and a fully erect penis was an unusual sight. Talim saw Ivy with Raphael. They were both running away, through the parking lot and toward their car. Talim looked at Raphael. Her bullet hit him, as though Soul Calibur knew which one she was aiming for. Ivy tried to carry Raphael. Talim ran up close to her.

"Going somewhere?" Talim said.

Ivy turned around.

"You? What?" Ivy said.

"I'm here to have fun." Talim said.

She sliced Ivy across her arm all the way to her torso with her the blade on her gun. Ivy fell back, covered in her own blood. It looked like she tried to say something, but was in too much shock to say anything. Talim finished her off with a quick slash to her throat. Ivy was dead.

"Target Ivy eliminated. Last target is right behind you."

Talim turned around and saw Amy. She was horrified at what she had seen. Talim pointed her gun. She wanted to squeeze the trigger, but couldn't.

"Talim… I'm sorry." Amy said.

She started to cry.

"I know I hurt you. I hurt you so much. I'm so sorry, just please, put the gun down." Amy said.

Talim felt like dropping her gun, but held on.

"No. This place, this whole system is corrupt. You have the people at the top, and they shit on others to feel good about themselves! Then…"

"Talim, I'm sorry. Just please, stop." Amy said.

She moved in close to Talim and tried to pull Soul Calibur away from her. Talim instinctively pulled her away.

"Stay back! I'll slash you!" Talim said.

Amy wrapped her arms around Talim and sobbed.

"This is all my fault. I should never have betrayed you. I'm sorry. If you can please…"

Her tears slurred her speech. Amy's words melted into sobs and moans. Talim only understood two words that were at the end.

"…forgive me."

Soul Calibur was not pleased.

"No, Talim. Kill her. She is guilty, just like the others. Justice must be served. She is guilty. None are innocent."

"Don't listen to him. He's evil." Amy said.

Talim wanted to put the gun down. She did, but there was a force keeping her from doing it. It was Soul Calibur.

"Kill her. She kicked your shins. She shit on you. She made you into a fool so that she could improve her social standing. She is a part of this economy of insecurities. She must die." The weapon said.

"No. She's my friend. She was always my friend." Talim said.

Soul Calibur grew angry.

"Justice! Vengeance! Kill her!" It shouted.

Talim dropped Soul Calibur. When she did, her penis went flaccid, back to being a shriveled up mess. She hugged Amy.

"I'm so, so sorry." Amy said.

"It's okay. I forgive you." Talim said.

Soul Calibur growled.

"Fine. I'll do it all myself."

One bullet.

Two bodies.

When the police found the shooter, they couldn't find a murder weapon.

The news headlines were livid.

The End

A/\A/\V\/V\/

 **Alternate Happy Ending**

 **Because I like happy endings better.**

It was morning, shortly after school had started. Talim was in the school locker room, the place where this all started for her, the place where Ivy and her friends took it too far and shot pictures of her penis. Talim looked in the mirror in front of the sink. She noticed that the entire Ivy Fun Club was behind her. Talim turned around and pointed Soul Calibur at them.

"You! All of you! I'll have my revenge!" Talim said.

Ivy kneeled onto the ground.

"Do what you need to do. We deserve it." She said.

Amy kneeled beside her.

"I'm probably the worst of them all. I betrayed you." Amy said.

Talim tried to squeeze the trigger, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She tossed the weapon away. It shattered on the floor like it was made of glass and dissolved into nothingness.

"No, this isn't me. I'm not a killer." She said.

Amy looked up, surprised at what she was hearing.

"How? How can you forgive us? How can you forgive me?" She said.

Talim smiled.

"I don't know. Why do I need to know? Killing isn't right. I don't care what you did to me, it's not worth it."

Amy jumped up to hug her friend.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I…"

Amy's words melted into sobs.

From then on, Ivy and her fun club never bullied anyone ever again.

Amy and Talim went on to become the best of friends through high school. After graduating, they even went to the same college, and kept that friendship for the rest of their lives.

Thank you for reading my story.

Happy Ending


End file.
